Easter Leftovers wrapped up in a Low-Carb package! Rice Wraps!

Hello Everyone! I'm back. I took my first "break" from blogging in over 3 months to visit with family over the Easter weekend. We slept in 3 different towns/beds in four nights and didn't come back completely exhausted so it was a successful trip.  The kids had a blast visiting with their cousins and Baba's and we managed to keep it clean.

It was pretty funny packing for the weekend. I was much more concerned about what clean food I was packing in the cooler than which clothes I had in my suitcase. But the extra effort to pack my protein powder, Chia seeds, Greek yogurt, coconut milk, cacao nibs and home-made protein bars, among other things, was worth it. We managed to eat pretty clean when we were away from our own kitchen by sticking to our smoothies for breakfast, having accommodating relatives that made sure we had some clean options at each meal and staying away from the dirty stuff at the big family dinners. I indulged in a few of my wheat-full favorites but I kept it pretty limited. I'm an all or none kind of gal so I had to use all my willpower to stay away from the chocolates and noodle casserole because I can't just stop at one with those goodies. And my stomach is thanking me - this is one of the first holiday weekends that I didn't come home with a belly-ache (that often lasted for up to a week).

So now we are home and like a lot of you we came back with left-overs. The trouble with left-over ham or turkey is that its so good and convenient in a sandwich or wrap. Well, when bread and wraps are no longer an option what are you supposed to do?

Rice paper wraps. I don't normally eat white rice, but I literally had  about 4 minutes to make myself something for lunch before I had to get my daughter to school. And I still have some Vietnamese Rice Paper wraps in my cupboard from my pre-clean days that I used to use for salad rolls with peanut sauce. The brand I have (Six Fortune) are about 9 inches wide and only have 8 grams of carbohydrate per wrap. The bread in my freezer has 20 grams per slice so that's 40 grams for a sandwich. Not in line with my blood sugar control plan.

Rice wraps are made from rice, salt and water. I can pronounce all of the ingredients - check. Less than 10 grams of net carbs per serving - check. I was good to go.

You just have to soak them in hot/boiling water for a few seconds and let stand for 30 seconds. I threw some left-over ham, cheese, lettuce and Caesar dressing on it and had a "sandwich" made within two minutes. Two minutes to eat and we made it to school on time. I'm completely paranoid about having to go to the office to get a "late" slip. I guess I spent way too much time in the principals office in my school days - now I just want to stay clear of there.

So if you are desperate for a "sandwich-like" alternative this might be something for you to try. The nice thing is that they have a long shelf life and are cheap as borscht (yep - I'm Ukrainian) so you can keep them in the pantry for emergency situations. Are they as good as white bread - hell no. Will you feel guilty after - hell no. I found mine in the ethnic isle at the Super Store and I'm sure you can find them at most Chinese grocery stores.

If you got a little crazy with the Easter chocolates this weekend, don't worry, just re-group and start the reset button and try to start eating clean again this week!